Page 60 of Made

“Some might. Not I.”

“I send your question back your way, Vidar. Why’s that?”

“Sometimes, the mightiest of creatures craves a taste of ordinary.”

Niall nodded slightly. “There is wisdom in that. But ‘tis no’ the reason I’m here. Might say I’m celebratin’ freedom. Just finished a sentence imposed by that human judge.” Though Niall’s inflection of “human judge” left no doubt how he felt about the magistrate, he turned his head and spat on the ancient floorboards for good measure.

Though Vidar spent most of his time alone in the wilderness, or maybe because of it, he had an outsized appreciation of civilization. Rather unusual for Vidar’s Norse contemporaries, who had little use for gentle social conventions. In his mind, the first tenet of civilization is manners. He’d given Niall a chance to earn his respect, but the boy was failing fast.

“You were sued,” Vidar said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah. By a kelpie. Indirectly.”

Vidar wasn’t sure how one might be indirectly sued by a kelpie, but he pretended to be interested. Getting Niall to open up had been a bit like pulling the chain on a windup toy. Once he’d started talking, the prince had quickly morphed into a chatterbox.

Sitting quietly through Niall’s telling of “keeping” the kelpie confined, the “unjust” details of the court case, then the trials and tribulations of being exiled to the highlands where theScotia queen’s brothers live, Vidar grunted occasionally, nodded occasionally, and otherwise made a point of maintaining eye contact.

“’Tis my story of late,” Niall concluded.

“Well, congratulations on being a free man,” Vidar posited.

“Right you are. To freedom.” He held his mug aloft in a gesture inviting Vidar to join him in a toast to himself.

“To freedom,” Vidar said as his mug touched that of the prince. “So, what’s the next adventure?”

“Adventure?” Niall repeated, sounding as if the idea of a plan hadn’t occurred to him.

“Yes. What’s the plan for how to spend your days now that you’re free to choose?”

“Em. Well. Can no’ say I’ve formulated an actual plan.” It couldn’t be said that Niall was deeply daunted by the idea of being caught without a plan, but he was slightly embarrassed. For some reason, he found himself not wanting Vidar to think less of him. “My plan was to take a short while to celebrate and then make a plan.”

“Sound thinking. And nothing wrong with that.”

Vidar was in the process of standing to go when Niall stopped him.

“Before ye go, tell me…”

“Yes?”

“Do you, em, always have a plan?”

“Mostly. I do best with a little structure. Not that every minute must be accounted for, mind you.”

Niall was nodding. “No. No. I understand completely.” Vidar was pretty sure Niall didn’t understand at all. “Maybe I’ll find a way to get my kelpie back.”

In Vidar’s eyes, that was confirmation of what he’d already suspected. Niall wasn’t too bright. “You could do that.But there’s a very good chance you’d face a harsher sentence next time.”

“Me mum would no’ like that.”

“I don’t imagine she would. But I’m sure she didn’t like seeing yourself in court the first time either.” Vidar leaned back and pursed his lips. “Other than keeping deranged kelpies as pets, what kinds of things interest you?”

Niall stared blankly, Vidar got the sense that it was a question Niall had never entertained. “Nothin’ comes to mind.”

“I see. Do you like music?”

“Has its place.”

“Do you play an instrument?”